🔮 Curve Gets Hacked, Meet Your Maker, Digital Art, Bipartisan Stablecoin Bill

Token Specific News

Slow Down, Sharp Curve Ahead - A Digital Asset Titan Gets Hacked

Over $70 million worth of digital assets were stolen in a series of attacks on the Curve Finance decentralized exchange. The attacks, which targeted various liquidity pools, began with an exploit of the JPEG’d’s pETH-ETH pool for over $11 million. Several other pools were drained, including Alchemix’s alETH-ETH pool, the CRV/ETH pool twice, Pendle’s pETH-ETH pool, and Metronome’s msETH-ETH pool. Some of the hacks were carried out by whitehat hackers, possibly reducing the total loss to around $50 million. The vulnerabilities were traced to the use of certain versions of the Vyper programming language, raising concerns about the security of other DeFi protocols compiled with Vyper. Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov’s large Aave V2 loan, backed primarily with CRV tokens, also raised concerns about potential bad debt following the attacks. Several known DeFi personalities stepped in to help Egorov mitigate his losses by purchasing CRV tokens from him. The exploit has shaken confidence in DeFi and raised concerns about the safety of other major protocols.

Source: Twitter

USDC Goes Slip-Sliding

The market capitalization of USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, has declined by roughly 50% over the past year and is currently around $26.7 billion. The decline was triggered by a temporary de-pegging event caused by the insolvency of Silicon Valley Bank, where Circle had deposited its reserves. This led to a loss of credibility for some investors. USDC's main competitor, Tether (USDT), has been gaining traction, with a market cap of nearly $84 billion, making it the third-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite the decline in supply, USDC remains popular for trading and as a bridge between the real world and the digital asset space in regulated environments. USDT is favored in Asia and among native crypto investors for daily trading and providing liquidity in DeFi.

Solana Wants to Lead the Crypto Gaming Charge

The Solana Foundation organized the PlayGG event to showcase blockchain gaming and NFTs while emphasizing good games over crypto or NFTs. Over 50 games were presented for playtesting to receive support from Solana Games, which aims to back games competing with traditional Web2 titles and offering unique player experiences. Many games presented at PlayGG did not heavily promote NFTs, instead referring to them as digital collectibles. Solana Games is committed to investing time and capital to ensure high-quality game releases on the Solana network, and the upcoming Firedancer validator client is expected to further stabilize the platform. Despite being in development, the showcased games are believed to have the potential to compete with mainstream titles, reshaping the narrative around NFTs and blockchain gaming, presenting them as a promising and engaging option for players.

Meet Your Maker

Maker's DAI stablecoin has faced challenges in increasing market share due to over-collateralization. However, sharing yield with holders led to a threefold increase in DAI deposits. Using Ethereum-based liquid staking tokens (LSTs) as collateral improved capital efficiency. Spark Protocol, a spin-off, offers fixed-rate DAI liquidity to boost adoption. Despite stablecoin challenges, Maker's market share remains at 3%. Higher interest rates and better capital utilization strengthened financial health with quadrupled revenue and net profits. Maker's profitability is expected to stay strong, driven by demand for sDAI. Facing competition from centralized issuers and new entrants, Maker benefits from broad DeFi adoption and liquidity. It is transforming to address user demands and adapt to the crypto landscape. Overall, Maker has shown resilience and profitability, solidifying its position in DeFi.

Source: Messari

U.S. Treasuries Fuel Real World Asset Growth

The DeFi space is eagerly adopting real-world assets (RWAs) as collateral, offering benefits like collateral diversity and reduced volatility. Projects like Maple Finance and TrueFi gained traction during the 2021 bull market. On-chain U.S. Treasuries have become popular for their attractive yields in DeFi, but accessibility is limited due to KYC restrictions for non-U.S. users. Nevertheless, U.S. Treasuries remain significant collateral for protocols like MakerDAO and Circle. Notable developments in DeFi include Pendle's success as a yield derivative protocol, Drift Protocol's Super Stake SOL service, and the launch of dYdX V4 testnet. The adoption of crvUSD has grown, driven by wstETH and WBTC as collateral. Global DeFi TVL experienced a reversion, while DEX volumes remained stable, with Orca and Maverick showing increased activity. Solana has surpassed Optimism as the highest yielding ecosystem. Various projects, such as Alluvial Protocol, Ambient Finance, Maverick Protocol, and One Trading, secured funding for their innovative DeFi offerings. See more: Why big banks like JPMorgan and Citi want to put Wall Street on a blockchain See more: Avalanche Foundation Commits $50M to Bring More Tokenized Assets to Blockchain

Source: Messari

Because It Is My Name!

A user of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) successfully reclaimed 63,700 ETH (equivalent to $74 million) from an old and outdated ENS registrar. The reclaim process involved accessing a wallet that had not been utilized since 2021, which resulted in retrieving 39,700 ETH. Subsequently, the user transferred the reclaimed 63,700 ETH to a new wallet. The individual had previously bid on multiple names back in 2017 but did not release the deeds to access their locked funds when ENS transitioned to a new system in 2019.

Ethereum Generative Art Challenger Highlight Takes on Art Blocks

The generative art movement has experienced a resurgence despite challenges in the crypto and NFT markets. A new platform called Highlight, backed by Haun Ventures and with $11 million in funding, aims to disrupt the space by offering the first-ever "open access" generative art platform on Ethereum. Unlike curated platforms like Art Blocks, Highlight allows anyone to use and list their art. The platform plans to generate revenue from a small fee charged to buyers instead of charging artists a creator fee. Highlight also provides tools to simplify the process of creating generative artworks. Despite its populist approach, Highlight is collaborating with established generative artists to debut new collections, and artists can experiment with different media types to push the boundaries of generative art.

Source: The Block

Ribbon Finance Governance Approves Aevo Brand Merger

Ribbon DAO token holders have voted to merge Ribbon Finance with the Aevo derivatives exchange. The merger involves moving Ribbon Finance's dapp to the Aevo domain and adopting Aevo's visual identity for existing structured products. The vote also approves a 1:1 token conversion from RBN to a new AEVO token, making Aevo a DAO with token holder governance over the exchange and its products. Ribbon Finance, which currently operates 16 DeFi options vaults on Ethereum, has struggled to scale, leading to the shift to Aevo, a non-custodial options and perpetual futures exchange on the layer-2 rollup. The move is expected to have a positive impact on the RBN token's tokenomics and appeal. However, some community members expressed concerns about potential confusion with other similar brand names in the industry. The merger aims to address previous issues and build a stronger platform under the Aevo umbrella.

Regulation

Nigeria's eNaira Getting a Digital Makeover to Woo More Users

Nigeria's Central Bank Governor, Folashodun Shonubi, announced on Wednesday that they are revamping the eNaira model to encourage wider adoption of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). The eNaira was launched in October 2021, but its usage has been relatively low, with only 13 million eNaira wallets in a population of nearly 224 million as of March this year. To improve accessibility and user-friendliness, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) upgraded the eNaira app to support contactless payments. However, specific details about the planned changes to the eNaira model have not been disclosed yet, and the CBN has not responded to further information requests at this time. See similar: The Bank of Italy is supporting a platform to introduce institutions to DeFi and asset tokenization. Cetif Advisory, affiliated with Milan's Cetif Research Centre, will lead the platform's development with backing from Polygon Labs, Fireblocks, Reply, Linklaters, and DVRS. The aim is to create a secure and accessible DeFi environment for supervised entities, according to Imanuel Baharier, the general manager of Cetif Advisory.

Bipartisan Support for Stablecoin Bill Achieved After Intense 7-Hour Markup

The House Financial Services Committee successfully passed the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, a stablecoin regulatory framework bill, with bipartisan support after a contentious seven-hour markup session. The bill empowers state legislators to license payment stablecoin issuers, with some federal policies included, such as the Federal Reserve's involvement in issuing requirements. Despite initial tensions and pushback, the bill advances to the House floor. Additionally, the committee also advanced the Keep Your Coins Act, which aims to protect crypto users who choose self-custody and prevent federal agencies from using digital currencies for lawful transactions.

SEC, Bored of XRP, Moves On To HEX

The SEC has charged Richard Heart, the founder of Hex, with conducting unregistered securities offerings that raised over $1 billion. The charges also include three unincorporated entities: PulseChain, PulseX, and Hex. Heart and PulseChain face additional charges for using $12 million of the offering proceeds to purchase luxury goods, including a 555-carat black diamond. The SEC alleges that Heart promoted Hex tokens as an investment to make people rich and attempted to evade securities laws through a staking feature. The SEC's lawsuit highlights misappropriation of funds related to an offering for PulseChain, and it demands a jury trial and seeks to ban Heart and his projects from selling crypto asset securities, recover ill-gotten gains, and impose civil penalties.

Bipartisan Senators Add Crypto Controls to Defense Bill, Face House Opposition

Bipartisan senators successfully added a crypto provision to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, aimed at combating illicit use of cryptocurrencies. The provision requires regulators to create a risk-focused examination process for financial institutions engaged in crypto activities and mandates the Treasury Department to advise Congress on anonymity-enhancing digital asset tools. While passed by the Senate, the policy may face challenges in the House, where 40 Republican amendments were added, reducing bipartisan support. The House and Senate need to negotiate a final version before September 30, the current law's expiration date.

SEC Wants to Know You're Hackable

New SEC rule mandates public companies, including crypto firms, to disclose cybersecurity incidents. The aim is to provide investors with crucial information during cyber attacks. SEC Chair Gary Gensler calls for consistent and useful disclosure. Companies like Coinbase, Marathon Holdings, Bitdeer, and MicroStrategy will be affected. The SEC highlights an increase in cybersecurity incidents and potential underreporting. Companies must share incident details, impact, data access, and remediation efforts on 8K forms under a new item, "1.05." They should also describe their cybersecurity risk management processes on Regulation S-K. The change emphasizes transparency in the crypto industry's cybersecurity practices.

Other Domestic Regulation Updates

• Judge gives DOJ until October to ‘make discovery’ in Mashinsky case
• Ron DeSantis Promises to End 'Biden's War on Bitcoin', Toss CBDC 'Into the Trash Can'
• SEC Mulls New Limits on Apps That Use Data to Make Stock Trading Fun
• Grayscale to SEC: Don’t grant ‘prejudicial first-mover advantage’ for bitcoin ETFs
• Coinbase CEO Says SEC Wanted All Assets Except Bitcoin Delisted: Report

Other International Regulation Updates

• Singapore’s High Court has recognized crypto as property capable of being held on trust in a case involving Seychelles-based exchange Bybit and a contractor
• Binance one step away from full approval in Dubai with operational license
• Tokenization Firm Securitize Kicks Off European Campaign in Spain
• $14B Spanish bank wants to beat market with actively-managed crypto fund
• Société Générale Becomes France’s First Crypto Licensee
• Digital Ruble Development Gets Go Ahead from Putin
• Binance Withdraws Crypto License Application with German Regulator BaFin
• Italy’s Central Bank Taps Polygon, Fireblocks DeFi Project to Help Institutions Dabble With Tokenized Assets

Pain & Gain

Pain

• The U.K.'s Information Commissions Office (ICO), a data watchdog, announced it opened an investigation into Worldcoin mere hours after the digital identity startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced its mainnet
• Ransomware May Be Dying Out, But Cryptojacking Is Up 399%: Cybersecurity Firm
• Kuwait Bans Crypto and Virtual Asset Transactions
• FTX's creditors say they weren't looped in on plan to recoup funds
• North Korean Hackers Breach U.S. IT Firm to Steal Crypto From Its Clients
• Crypto exchange KuCoin said Tuesday it might lay off staff as part of “a normal process in organizational development”

Gain

• Deloitte, Chainalysis partner up in quest to achieve crypto compliance
• Tether reports $850 million net profit for second quarter in latest attestation report
• Palm Network to Launch NFT Creators' Platform on Polygon Supernet
• Blockchain Capital Leads $40MM A Round for Zero-Knowledge Proof Software Firm
• Solana Foundation, Polygon, Lead $30MM Seed Round for Web3 Infrastructure Startup
• Lido Finance DAO Mulls Introducing New Dual Governance Model
• Telegram bot coins are making it easier for ‘on-chain power degens’ to trade crypto